San Diego Chargers: Is the Hot Seat Getting a Little Hotter for Norv Turner?

If they haven't, how long until we hear those words flying out of the mouths of the San Diego fans or media?

First-round playoff losses, games they shouldn't be losing, questionable performances, lack of effort—the list goes on and on.

You can sit here and go through the San Diego Chargers' depth chart and know, without question, that this team has all the talent they need to make a serious run at the Super Bowl. They said the same thing about the Dallas Cowboys before this season.

How's that working out for them so far?

The Chargers have played three teams that, when you looked at it during the weeks leading up to the season, didn't deserve a second look.

Let's be honest: It was the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Seattle Seahawks. It wasn't the Indianapolis Colts or the New England Patriots.

The Chargers were too good to lose any of the first three games.

Three games later, and they sit with a 1-2 record. But before we start pointing fingers at the quarterback, the running back, or the defense, we should point them all in another direction, because no one deserves it more than these group of guys:

The (not-so-) special teams. They've been just short of horrendous.

OK, they have been horrendous.

They allowed a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Chiefs, and two kick returns for touchdowns against Seattle this past weekend. Both games were lost by seven points.

Tell me those three moments weren't the difference.

While I'm not going to come out and say "Norv Turner will be fired by Monday morning," I do wonder how long Norv has as the head coach.

How long will Dean Spanos sit up in the owner's box and wait for his team to catch lightning in a bottle? How many first-round playoff exits will the fans have to endure before a change is made?

Make no mistake about it, I'm not hating on the Chargers—far from it. I just wonder where the problem with this team really lies.

They couldn't get it done with Marty Schottenheimer, and they're not getting it done with Turner.

So who's next?

Let's not start the Bill Cowher rumors. We've been down that rumor road before, and it ended at a cul-de-sac that sent us back where we came from.

If you do want to open the rumor mill back up, again, names like Brian Billick could be mentioned, along with Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden. But are any of those three legit names?

The Chargers return home to face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. It's another game they have no business losing, especially against a team that doesn't have near the talent that the Chargers can roll out.

But that hasn't seemed to make much of a difference so far.

Lose this game on Sunday, and I guarantee, calls for Turner's head will be yelled from every rooftop from Mission Valley to Rancho Bernardo to Oceanside, and every point in between.

The city of San Diego desperately wants a championship. They want to take their name off the "cities without a championship" list.

They thought they would finally get that monkey off their back this season.

But, by the way things look so far, they may have to wait yet another year.

Or perhaps longer. Depending on how much mediocrity the fans are willing to sit through, a change may be made sooner rather than later.

If not, first-round playoff exits and "we got close" are really the only things that will be heard around Qualcomm Stadium.